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RPGs Fuel PSP Success
By Heath | April 8, 2010 at 11:13 pm
Recently, the PSP has found itself riding high on the Japanese sales charts. Taking a look at its recent software releases, it becomes apparent that a sizable portion of its recent success can be attributed to a very strong RPG lineup.
PSP-exclusive God Eater, released in early February, is still tapping the top 10 in software sales as of mid March, which is ridonkulous for almost anything other than Dragon Quest, Monster Hunter, Mario, or Final Fantasy. It’s moved well over half a million copies in that time period, which again, is incredible. A portable game that can do that is no doubt also a factor in some system sales.
January saw the launches of two highly anticipated titles belonging to highly respected RPG series, namely Valkyria Chronicles 2 (Jan. 21) and Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep (Jan. 8). As of most recent checks KH:BbS has sold well over 800,000 copies while Valkyria 2 also exceeded its expectations. While no longer top 10 material after all that time, they are still forces on the shelves.
Now, one would be foolish to think that a single genre alone has carried the load here. That’s not true, and this piece is not saying that’s the case. The system has seen some great, high-profile, system-selling RPGs for sure, but the PSP has also been fortunate to get games like Gundam Assault Survive, which debuted at #2 on the charts (behind only the mega-selling Yakuza 4) and highly acclaimed baseball title Pro Yakyuu Spirits 2010 have definitely added to the system’s strength.
While it might be the opposite of what’s happening in North America, the PSP has been bouncing back and forth in the top two spots on the Japanese console sales charts since January. Upcoming titles, both RPGs and non-RPGs, (Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Blaze Union, Last Ranker, Tales of Phantasia Narikiri Dungeon X, and others) will likely keep it floating high up there for a while.
Topics: God Eater, Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep, Last Ranker, Valkyria Chronicles 2